On July 4, 2017, the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology lost Hugh Rose, one of its most cherished leaders and supporters. At age 90, Hugh passed away from natural causes, surrounded by his family at their Tucson home.

While building a career as a successful business executive, Hugh and his wife Mary amassed a spectacular collection of fossils and began teaching paleontology out of their Illinois home. In the 1970s, Hugh was asked to evaluate the value of the Alf Museum’s collections, and he ended up becoming a founding member of the board of trustees in 1979, later enrolling his son Matthew ’82 in Webb School of California.

Early on, Hugh recognized the great educational and research potential of the Museum. He and Mary donated most of their personal collection of fossils in 1985 and also established the Hugh & Mary Rose Endowed Fund to provide a permanent source of revenue for the Museum’s operations. If one were to ask who was the creative force behind the Peccary Society Dinner, those memorable peccary glasses, and the peccary trips to Mongolia, that would be Hugh Rose.

Without Hugh’s foresight and pragmatism, the Museum could not have experienced the tremendous growth it did over the last four decades. As Board Chairman Larry Ashton recalls, “Hugh Rose was a good friend and giant supporter of the Alf Museum in every sense of the word. It is largely because of Hugh’s efforts, at a time when the then fledgling museum was in question, that we have the museum today. He helped to organize the first trip to Mongolia in 1995 and was an active member at our board meetings. Hugh rightfully earned his place as a Life Trustee after having served on our board for almost 40 years. He was always interested in what was going on at the museum. When he could no longer travel due to his declining health, Don Lofgren and I would visit him in Tucson. I used to love to sit in his home office and listen to him talk about our museum, his life and his wonderful family, who have become so involved with our museum as well. He would often say to me, ‘I just love that museum.’ His passing is a big loss for me and our museum. I am glad that we have his daughter Mary Rose on our board to continue in the Rose tradition.”

The appreciation for Hugh was echoed in the words of Museum Director Don Lofgren. “Hugh was an amazing supporter of the Museum and a close friend. What really struck me about Hugh, was for a man who had accomplished so much in the business world, he was incredibly humble. This was evident in his leadership of the board of trustees which was critical to the Museum’s growth. For example, he started the Peccary Society Dinners and international peccary trips, but would not take any credit, always quickly deflecting praise to others. For me personally, Hugh helped guide the Museum through some major growing pains when I was new to Webb in the 1990s, and I was able to gain a lot of confidence knowing that I could always count on him. A more enthusiastic, dedicated, and visionary leader is hard to imagine.”

As we honor the legacy that Hugh Rose left at the Alf Museum, we are filled with gratitude and admiration for his passion, generosity, and dedication. We extend our condolences to Hugh’s wife, Mary, to his children Nancy, Greg, Matt ’82 and Mary, and his grandchildren.